News stories from Friday April 14, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Carter summoned aides and cabinet members to a meeting at Camp David at which, a source said, they will be asked to give their ideas on ways to centralize in the White House procedures for long-range decision making. Such a focus would be a departure from Mr. Carter's oft-stated commitment to a cabinet government and coincides with a reorganization of the White House staff, one that is expected to bring members with broader experience than many who now serve Mr. Carter. [New York Times]
- A federal Department of Education, centralizing almost all federally-aided education programs, has been proposed to Congress by the Carter administration. The department would be in charge of 164 programs, have a budget of $17.5 billion and would employ nearly 24,000 people. Several major cultural and educational programs would remain separate from it. Senate approval of the new department seems virtually assured, but the outlook for House action is uncertain. [New York Times]
- Cheering economic news came from the Federal Reserve Board, which said that industrial production last month made its biggest gain in a year. The 1.4 percent advance, compared with an increase of 0.3 percent in February and 0.8 percent in January, means that factories were continuing to hire more workers despite the long coal strike and weather problems. [New York Times]
- Record level stock trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange followed rumors, later denied, that President Carter planned to reduce or delay his tax-cut proposal and other economic news. More than 52 million shares were traded on the Big Board, the largest volume in history, nearly 7.8 million more shares than were traded in the previous record session of Feb. 20, 1976. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 19.92 points to 795.13, its largest daily advance in more than a year and a half. [New York Times]
- Domestic air fares could be cut up to 50 percent under a deregulation proposal by the Civil Aeronautics Board that would allow airlines to post competitive prices without prior approval for the first time since the government began regulating them 40 years ago. The C.A.B. voted to have the staff proposal circulated among airlines and the public. Lower fares are possible by the end of the year on routes where two or more airlines are now operating. [New York Times]
- Rhodesian guerrilla leaders said that under certain conditions they would accept key elements of the British-American plan for a Rhodesian settlement, including an overseer United Nations force to insure that free elections take place. The first two rounds of talks in Tanzania with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Foreign Minister David Owen were more difficult than Mr. Vance and Dr. Owen had expected, but their spokesmen insisted that the negotiations on the British-American plan were not at an impasse and that progress was possible when the talks resume tomorrow. [New York Times]
- A quarrel between Japan and China over five tiny uninhabited islands in the East China Sea threatened to delay further a peace and friendship treaty that both countries regard as vital to their future relations. The disputed territory, the Senkaku Islands, has a total area of 2.5 square miles. A fleet of Chinese fishing boats, some armed with machine guns, were in the islands' waters. They were encircled by Japanese patrol boats which used loudspeakers to order the Chinese boats to leave immediately. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 795.13 (+19.92, +2.57%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| April 13, 1978 | 775.21 | 90.98 | 31.58 |
| April 12, 1978 | 766.29 | 90.11 | 26.22 |
| April 11, 1978 | 770.18 | 90.25 | 24.30 |
| April 10, 1978 | 773.65 | 90.49 | 25.74 |
| April 7, 1978 | 769.58 | 90.17 | 25.17 |
| April 6, 1978 | 763.95 | 89.79 | 27.36 |
| April 5, 1978 | 763.08 | 89.64 | 27.26 |
| April 4, 1978 | 755.37 | 88.86 | 20.13 |
| April 3, 1978 | 751.04 | 88.46 | 20.23 |
| March 31, 1978 | 757.36 | 89.21 | 20.13 |